SPORTS | 15
APRIL 24, 2019
WELDEN: Golfer becomes men’s volleyball’s biggest fan Sydney Shipe | The Phoenix
Nick Welden (left), a redshirt sophomore on the Loyola men’s golf team, can be seen at Gentile Arena during men’s volleyball holding his trademark whiteboard or a poster to taunt opposing teams.
continued from page 1 “[First-year opposite hitter] Luke [Denton] had been playing alright up to that point, but that game he went off,” Welden said. “He was like, ‘Man, I love the sign. It kind of got me going,’ so I like to think I’m helping out a little bit. That was probably one of my favorite [signs] because after the game I got him to sign it and it’s up in our locker room now.” These interactions between Welden and the team are common at a men’s volleyball game. It’s a two-way street with the members of the team reciprocating the attention being thrown their way. This includes head coach Mark Hulse. The golfer and the volleyball coach have an unexpectedly unique relationship. “I don’t have a very good poker face,” Hulse said. “If he’s doing something funny, I don’t care what time of day it is,
I’m going to laugh and tip my cap to him … whatever I did after the first time [he wrote my name on a sign], he kind of took the bait and has been running with it ever since.” Welden has a tendency to write whatever pops into his head on the whiteboard. For example, during the match against Ohio State, he wrote “Happy Birthday Hulse” on the whiteboard while serenading the coach with birthday wishes despite it not actually being the coach’s birthday. As for Hulse, he seems to love the energy Welden brings, often asking Welden if he’ll be at the next game. Also, Hulse managed to “sneak” Welden a marker after a bad marker nearly ruined the first game with Welden’s whiteboard. “He actually hooked me up with a marker [against Ohio State] because I had a crappy red one,” Welden said. “I wrote on the board ‘Hey Hulse, extra marker?” and he was like, ‘Give me a
minute.’ He gave me a little wink, and then a little later he gave me a marker. He’s been awesome … I remember I made a sign with “HULSE” and put a heart around it and he gave me a little heart symbol with his hands. He gives the energy right back.” Hulse gave his side on Welden’s story about the marker, but playfully said he “accidentally” dropped a marker that Welden just happened to find. “I wasn’t sure if I wanted to officially be aiding and embedding whatever he was doing in the stands,” Hulse joked. “So I ‘accidentally’ left a whiteboard marker in a very obvious place and he ‘accidentally’ found it. That is my official stance on that.” Although men’s volleyball didn’t draw as large of a crowd as men’s basketball, Welden said volleyball matches are his favorite due to the more personal atmosphere during those games and the fact that he’s more likely to be heard.
Sydney Shipe | The Phoenix
Nick Welden makes fun of Purdue Fort Wayne with his whiteboard at Gentile Arena.
JUCO guards make Moser’s best recruiting class even better
Nick Schultz | Sports Editor nschultz@luc.edu
The roster is set. Now, it’s time to evaluate. Loyola men’s basketball head coach Porter Moser has brought in arguably his best recruiting class since taking over the program in 2011 — a class that includes three highly-touted graduating high school seniors and two junior college transfers. They’re all “Porter Moser players.” Moser has said many times he doesn’t recruit five-star recruits or players who’ll play one year before darting for the NBA. Instead, he looks for players who’ll fit his system, who have won championships and who will stay four years to graduate. “I’m not going to sign a kid because some scouting service says he’s one
star higher than this guy,” Moser told me two weeks ago. “I’m going after a certain profile of guy. I want winners. I want athleticism, speed, [a player] that is skilled. I want guys that want to be part of a program. I want guys that want to get an education.” This recruiting class — Paxson Wojcik, Tom Welch, Marquise Kennedy, Keith Clemons and Jalon Pipkins — is exactly what Moser said he looks for. Wojcik, Welch and Kennedy are all listed as three-star recruits on 247sports.com, and Clemons and Pipkins were some of the top junior college players in the country. Clemons won a National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) national championship this past year, while Kennedy, a graduate of Brother Rice High School on Chicago’s South Side, hit a crucial shot to send Brother Rice to the Illinois High School Association regional championship in February. Moser wants winners? Well, he’s got some. Wojcik and Welch also joined Kennedy on the Illinois Wolves — a top-tier local club team coached by former Loyola associate head coach Bryan Mullins’ dad, Mike — so they’re no strangers to high expectations, either. On paper, this class looks like it could be instant-impact. But of the five, only Pipkins has played in a Division I game; he played in 23 for California State University, Northridge before transferring to junior college two years ago. It’s tough to tell just how
Nick Schultz | The Phoenix
Marquise Kennedy (left) and Paxson Wojcik are two of the Loyola men’s basketball team’s five signees for next season.
much of an impact they’ll have. But if what’s on paper translates to what could happen on the court, this could be one talented team next year. Kennedy might be the most talented of the group in terms of scoring. He averaged 23.8 points per game for Brother Rice this past year and shot 60 percent from the floor. But Welch, the 6-foot-8 big man from Naperville North High School in the south suburbs, also has the ability to make some
noise considering he dropped 22.9 points per game and 8.6 rebounds per game this season. Couple them with Wojcik’s passing ability, and the “Three Little Wolves” have potential to do big things in their four years at Loyola. Don’t overlook Clemons and Pipkins, though. Given Moser’s track record with junior college transfers — specifically 2017 Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Sixth Man of the
Year Aundre Jackson and 2016 second team All-MVC nominee Montel James — they should adjust quickly. I said this was Moser’s most talented recruiting class before Pipkins and Clemons signed. Now, it’s even better. Next year might be about developing seeing as though guard Bruno Skokna will be the team’s lone senior. But the 2020-21 season? If this group stays together, watch out.